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PHILADELPHIA — The Coast Guard presented the Gold Life Saving Medal, Dec. 4, 2024, to a Barnegat Light Fire Department volunteer at Barnegat Light Fire Hall in Barnegat Inlet, New Jersey.
Robert Selfridge was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for saving a mother and daughter who were trapped underneath a capsized boat in the turbulent waters of Barnegat Inlet, Aug. 7, 2022.
“Today I had the honor of formally presenting the Gold Life Saving Medal on behalf of the Commandant, to Robert Selfridge for his heroic actions on Aug. 7, 2022, that saved a trapped mother and daughter from drowning in Barnegat Inlet, New Jersey,” said Capt. Kate Higgins-Bloom, Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay commander. “The Coast Guard is grateful to Mr. Selfridge for his selfless action and bravery. Bob is an important part of the Barnegat Light community of responders, and we look forward to continuing to serve the community together.”
The ceremony was attended by Sector Delaware Bay command, officers, and enlisted personnel who witnessed the special occasion alongside family and friends of Selfridge.
“This is such a surreal moment for me,” said Selfridge. “I am receiving the highest award for rescue and heroism, and I am honored beyond belief.”
At approximately 7 p.m. on Aug. 7, 2022, Sector Delaware Bay command center watchstanders received a distress call of an overturned and capsized 23-foot boat at Barnegat Inlet.
The Coast Guard and partnering agencies, including Selfridge, responded to the call for help.
Five people involved with the incident were rescued from the water while two people, a mother and daughter, were trapped inside the hull of the capsized boat.
Removing his lifejacket, Selfridge dove underneath the vessel and entered the cabin where he found the mother and daughter in an air pocket.
Selfridge then led the mother and daughter out of the cabin where he kept them afloat until they were pulled from the water by a Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light 29-foot Response Boat-Small crew.
The Gold Lifesaving Medal is one of the United States’ oldest medals, it was created by Act of Congress in 1874 and may be awarded to an individual who performs a rescue or attempts to rescue any other person from drowning, shipwreck or other peril of water, at the risk of their own life, and demonstrates extreme heroic daring.
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